BOH sells some South Pacific branches

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Bank of Hawaii has agreed to sell a group of South Pacific banks to Australia-based ANZ for $50 million.

The deal, announced yesterday, includes seven bank branches — two in Papua New Guinea, two in Vanuatu and three in Fiji — with total assets of $180 million and 196 employees.

Scheduled to be completed around the end of the year, pending regulatory approval, the sale will bring Bank of Hawaii one step closer to wrapping up a plan announced earlier this year to divest all of its South Pacific operations, with the exception of American Samoa.

Bank of Hawaii's remaining South Pacific assets consist of investments in Banque de Tahiti in French Polynesia, Bank of Hawaii-Nouvelle Caledonie in New Caledonia and operations in the Solomon Islands. A sale agreement for those banks is expected later this year.

Richard Dahl, Bank of Hawaii president, said the company will assist in making a smooth transition for employees and customers of the banks being sold.

The sale to ANZ also will free up $40 million in capital previously allocated for the banks being sold, according to Bank of Hawaii.

The transaction is expected to result in a "modest" gain depending on tax considerations, the bank added.

For ANZ, the acquisition moves the company closer to its goal of doubling the size of its Pacific business.

ANZ has total assets of about $93 billion and a market capitalization of $11.8 billion. The company's main market is Australia and New Zealand, but it is represented in 29 countries in Asia, the Pacific, Europe and America.

Bank of Hawaii is the principal subsidiary of Honolulu-based Pacific Century Financial Corp., which had total assets of about $12.8 billion as of June 30.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.